Lee Bailey's City Food - 1984 First Edition

A steadily increasing accumulation of international ingredients and techniques, coupled with our own regional food, has made possible a sophisticated and confident new style of cooking. Lee Baily, 1984

{HISTORY}

A shopkeeper, a cookbook author, a magazine editor, a traveler, a designer, and a hospitable southern gentleman, Lee Bailey (1926-2003) wore many hats throughout his life, but everything almost always revolved around food and cooking. Born and raised in Louisiana, Lee went north to New York for college and professional pursuits, but never lost his relaxed, hospitable nature among the hustle and bustle energy of city life. 

He splashed onto the cookbook scene in 1983 with Lee Bailey's Country Weekends, which won the 1983 Tastemaker Cookbook of the Year Award and kicked off his signature style of beautifully photographed cookbooks combined with unfussy, elegant recipes meant for relaxed entertaining.  Like the food he prepared, Lee wasn't interested in spending oodles of hours in the kitchen fretting and fussing, nor was he interested in complicated cuisine, nor was he a trained chef.  He simply loved good food and good company. 

In Lee Bailey's City Food, he features recipes that emulate the cross-cultural diversity found in city landscapes and urban markets. He recognized that most city dwellers were working in small kitchens and either entertaining in petite apartments or the borrowed landscapes of city parks. With that in mind, he created a series of fun menus to suit the city lifestyle and surroundings. None of the recipes included here requires elaborate kitchen equipment, a lot of time to prepare, or complicated prep work. Instead, he offers interesting seasonal situation menus that spark the imagination and inspire dozens of engaging mealtime possibilities. 

A weeknight dinner in a tree-shaded apartment, a theater in the park picnic, a meal served overlooking the river, a swell celebratory dinner meant to impress, a Sunday brunch on a rooftop terrace, a lunch in a one-room space, an early supper in a city garden, a country picnic in the woods... those are just a few of the types of the situational dining options that inspired their own unique menus and the complimentary fare to go with them.

In a painter's loft, there are ligonberry preserves. On a rainy night, there is coconut flan. In a sunny dining room, there is an all-vegetable soup. At twilight, there is bobotie and chocolate soufflé. Creative and engaging, just like the man himself, Lee Bailey's City Foods is both a springboard of culinary ideas and a thoughtfully prepared, practical party plan for the city dweller who likes to make homemade meals for friends and family, whether eating in or dining out.

{SPECIAL FEATURES} 

• First Edition published in 1984
• 157 pages
• Includes original dust jacket
• Illustrated throughout with color photographs by Joshua Greene
• Interesting recipes include Lemon Stroganoff, Carrots with Apricots and Lemon Rice, Maryland Crab Cakes, Walnut & Fig Triangles, Sobero, Empanadas (two ways), Cuban Beef Rolls, Poached Apricots with par puree, Angel Hair Pasta in Rocotta Custard, Roasted Onion and Watercress Puree, Beef Stew with Rum and Olives, Lemon Mousse with Berry Puree, Warm Gingerbread with Vanilla Ice Cream, Cold-Water Corn Bread Cakes, and Banana Clafout
  

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this cookbook is very clean and bright throughout with no cooking spots, stains, or notations. The dust jacket is in great shape and contains no rips or tears. The spine is tight, and all pages are intact.

{SIZE}

Measures 11.5" inches (length) x 9" inches (width) x .75" inches (thickness) and weighs 2.5 lbs.